Can a baseball player be recalled from waivers?

Answer 1

Yes, but based on the type of waivers the player is placed on.

There are waivers solely for the purpose of granting a player his unconditional release. These waivers are not revocable and any player placed on these waivers cannot be recalled if they are claimed by another team. If no team claims the player he becomes a free agent.

There are waivers for granting a player his outright release. A player cannot be recalled from these waivers if claimed but, if the player is not claimed, the team can assign him to the minor leagues. If the player refuses the assignment he becomes a free agent.

There are waivers used for trading players after the MLB trading deadline of each season. A team places a player on these waivers after they have received interest in the player from another team. They hope the team showing the interest is the team that wins the claim so they can make a trade. This trade must be made within two days of the claim and, generally, the player is traded for a minor leaguer or a player to be named later. If the player is claimed by a team that hasn't shown interest in the player, the team may recall the player from waivers. But they can only do this once per season. If the player's team decides to place the player on trade waivers again and any team claims him, they cannot withdraw him a second time and lose him to the claiming team.